Payoffs to Farm Management: How Important is Grain Marketing?

Economically, a well managed firm is one that consistently makes greater profits than competing firms in the industry. In terms of production agriculture, good management is demonstrated by profits that are persistently greater than those of similarly structured, neighboring farms. This research examined the effects of four management practices on profit per acre for nearly 1,000 Kansas farms over 1987-96. The four management practices were price management, cost management, technology adoption (less-tillage), and yield management. Of these four it was found that cost management and technology adoption had the greatest effect on profit per acre and a farm being able to differentiate itself from other neighboring farms. Yield was found to be moderately significant and price was found to have the smallest impact of all. Therefore, if producers wish to have continuously high profits their efforts are best spent in management practices over which they have the most control, namely, in the areas of cost control and technology adoption.